The Ripple Effect
by wonderlandrambles
Summary: AU Story. After learning the truth about the prophecy, Neville Longbottom wants to change everything and prove it should have been him but by doing this he is putting his family and friendships in danger, will he get more than he wanted? & with his best friend, Ginny, trying to stop him, will she change her mind when she realises she can be with the love of her life with no danger.
1. Prologue

The Ripple Effect

AN: An AU fic that has been in my head for a while. I hope you like it! Rated T for mild swearing and in later chapters, implied chapters.

Prologue: _'You have no idea how worthless you are but how much worth you could of had'_

Snow had begun to fall at Hogwarts. Winter was usually Ginny Weasley's favourite time of the year but not this year. She dreaded the day because the usual family Christmas gathering was now shortened by three people and it had left a gaping hole in her heart.

She was sat at the top of the owlery, watching the birds fly in and out but she could tell they were scared. Maybe because of The Death Eaters always being at the school.

'You should not be up here' she turned and relaxed when she saw it was her best friend, Neville Longbottom.

'Neither should you' she replied, with a smirk.

'What are you thinking about?' he asked, walking towards her.

'How the school just feels empty, everything feels empty' she sighed, looking across out of the window and over the mountains.

'They will come home, Ginny. I know it' he said, sitting down and put a comforting arm around her.

'Well doesn't this look cosy' a sneering voice said from behind them. They turned and the figure of Severus Snape came lurking out the shadows.

'Free period and it is a free country' she replied, through gritted teeth.

'Watch your mouth, Miss Weasley, we both it is only a matter of time before the Dark Lord realises your brother is not at home, ill' Snape replied, wearing a sneer.

'I'd say go and check yourself but I don't think the Dark Lord would like his wingman having yellow skin' Ginny said, standing up and walked past. Neville followed suit and rolled his eyes as Snape glared at him. Neville was about to walk out but a sudden wave of confidence hit him and he turned back.

'I don't know what is your problem with me, I might not be clever but I am a good friend, loyal, I would never stab them in the back, not like you. You are nothing but a coward' he told him. Ginny gasped, looking from her friend to Snape, worried about what may happen.

'You have no idea how worthless you are but how much worth you could of had' Snape said quietly, almost a whisper.

'Don't listen to him, Neville. For someone who used to be bullied, he is the one who turned out to the coward. At least they changed, all that is here is a bitter, backstabbing mess' Ginny proclaimed, putting a hand on Neville's arm.

'You should watch your mouth, I could kill you without blinking' Snape warned her. She laughed, shaking her head.

'And yet I am still alive. I am not scared of you, Snape. I never have been. You won't kill me because I mean too much to your master, he wants to be the one to kill me himself but it won't serve his higher agenda to kill me' she replied, raising an eyebrow.

'Not everything is about you, Miss Weasley' he told her, coldly, before barging past them and walked out of the owlery.

'What does he mean that I could be worth more?' Neville questioned, staring after Snape.

'Ignore him, come on, I'm hungry, lets go and eat' she replied, giving a small smile and they began to walk downstairs.

Later on, Ginny and Neville had fallen asleep in the common room. She woke with a start when she heard the portrait hole open and close. She looked around and saw where Neville had been sat was empty. She sighed and hurried out the portrait hole.

'Neville Longbottom, are you out of your mind?' she hissed after him.

'I need to see Professor Trelawaney. I don't know why but I have a feeling she can help me' he replied, turning around.

'It is late, she'll be asleep like we should be. Come on' she sighed, running her hands through her hair.

'It's Wednesday, she gets most of her visions on Wednesday nights. She'll be awake' he told her, before hurrying off.

'Bloody hell, this boy' she muttered under her breath before running after him. They were careful not to run into any patrolling death eaters as they walked to Professor Trelawaney's trapdoor.

'Psst, Professor Trelawaney, its Neville Longbottom and Ginny Weasley, we need to talk to you' Neville whispered but tried to be loud as he could at the same time. A few moments later, the trapdoor opened and a ladder fell down. She looked at him and held her hand out as if to tell him to go first. He nodded and climbed the ladder before helping her up. She muttered a thanks as they both stood in the classroom.

'Neville, what is the means of you being here at this time?' Professor Trelawaney questioned, walking towards them.

'I have been struggling and something tells me you are the only one who can help me' Neville replied, sighing.

'With your work boy? I know you aren't an outstanding level but…'

'What he means Snape made a comment and he is taking it way out of context' Ginny cut across her, crossing her arms.

'You are here because of a comment a teacher made? Oh Neville…' Professor Trelawaney sighed, squeezing her temple.

'He said I could be worth more than I am right now. It wasn't just what he said, it was how he said it. With such hate, like he blames me for something' Neville replied, close to tears or throwing something.

'Oh that poor boy…' Professor Trelawaney whispered, sitting down.

'Professor?' Ginny questioned, watching in shock over the professor's reaction.

'I made a promise to Albus, I can't tell you, you must go and put this from your mind' Professor Trelawaney replied, putting her head in her hands.

'No offence, Professor but Dumbledore is dead and if Snape blames Neville for something, Neville deserves to know what for' Ginny exclaimed, worried for her best friend.

'You know, this gift is sometimes a curse. It is a curse to see what I see, to know I cannot change it' Professor Trelawaney said in small voice.

'Please, tell me, I need to know, if there is a reason why Snape has been treating me the way he has since I got here. Please' Neville begged, sitting next to her.

'He thinks it should have been you' Professor Trelawaney sighed at both their confused expressions 'When I was interviewed for this job, I saw something, I saw the end of the Dark Lord. Being marked as his equal. A leader. Caring. Is not violent unless provoked. Treats everyone around them equally. Blood status does not matter. The opposite of the Dark Lord. All the qualities of someone born in July. It was then I made a prophecy of the Dark Lord's end. It would be a boy born at the end of July. He would mark the Dark Lord as his equal'

'So that was me and…

'Harry' Ginny finished for him, her head in her hands.

'The Dark Lord chose Harry Potter' Professor Trelawney replied, sitting back, seeming at war with herself.

'Chose him? So this is all your fault? Everything that has happened in the past 16 years is your fault' Ginny exclaimed, kicking a table.

'There is more isn't there?' Neville asked, turning back to Professor Trelawney.

'The last bit of the prophecy says… Either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives' Neville managed to get over to Ginny who was so angry now, she did not know what she was capable.

'You are saying you signed the death sentence of a baby, before they even had the choice what they wanted to do. Do you understand what you have done? Harry, Neville, neither of them deserved that, no one deserves that' Ginny said, as Neville held her back.

'Ginny, calm down' he tried to tell her.

'Calm down? Calm down? Did you not hear what she said? They can't both be alive, one must kill the other and the last time I checked, Harry isn't fucking immortal like his 'equal'. This is total bullshit. I hope you are proud of yourself, Professor' she replied, pushing Neville off her and headed out of the trapdoor.

'Why does Snape wish it was me not Harry?' he asked, turning back to Professor Trelawney.

'It is not my place to say, dear. All I have is guesses. You should go and see if Miss Weasley is okay, she is understandably upset' she replied. He sighed and nodded. He headed out and went to find her. He found her in the kitchen. Dobby the house elf had brought her a piece of treacle tart. He sat next to her.

'You are not obvious you know?' he said, raising an eyebrow.

'What are you going on about?' she replied, after taking a bite.

'That's Harry's favourite' he nodded at her tart.

'Actually, he has my mum's cooking to thank for that' she then carried on eating.

'Why does Snape wish it was me?' he wondered after a moment.

'Maybe he wanted James alive to see him make his son's life a misery. I don't know. Snape is twisted. Don't even try and understand' she said, shrugged.

'We have always had a feeling, at the end of the day, it was only going to be them two in the final showdown' he told her. She sighed and put her plate down.

'I always hoped it was that though. A feeling. It's now real. Concrete. Written. It cannot be change' she replied. He could tell she was preventing herself from crying.

'I'm sorry' he whispered.

'No, don't you dare say it. It should have not been you. It should have not been anyone' she stood up, brushing crumbs off herself 'I'm off to bed. Don't beat yourself up'

'I'll try not to. I'm gonna stay here for a while I think' he told her and she nodded.

She kissed him on the cheek 'You are my best friend. I love you and nothing is going to change that. You don't need to be the chosen one to be worthy. You are worthy, just being you.

The next morning, Ginny woke with a headache. She groaned, rubbing her head and got out of bed. Something did not feel right. She did not know if it was because of what happened but she hurried downstairs all the same, where she saw Professor McGonagall looking frantic around the common room.

'Professor, what is going on?' Ginny asked, walking towards her.

'Ah you are up, Miss Weasley, good. Have you been asleep all night?' Ginny nodded, feeling guilty but she did not to disclose what she had learnt last night.

'What's happened?' Ginny asked, trying to act innocent.

'A very dangerous book has gone missing from the restricted section and we need to find it before someone uses it' Professor McGonagall replied.

'What kind of dangerous book?' Ginny questioned, wondering where Neville was at the same time.

'It contains a lot of changing spells, changing the seasons, changing your clothes kind of thing but the reason it's in the restricted section, the author enclosed a different kind of changing spell. He enclosed a changing of the fates spell' the teacher told her.

Ginny's eyes widened 'Changing of the fates spell?'

'It allows you to change fates with someone, basically swap lives'

'He wouldn't' Ginny muttered before rushing out of the common room before the professor could say anything else. She had no idea where to find Neville but she had to find him. Fast. She was running when she felt the earth move. She held onto the hall for support.

'Oh Neville, please no' she said, starting to run again when she went running straight into Nymphadora Tonks.

'I am so sorry, Tonks!' Ginny exclaimed before gasping.

'Ginny, where's Neville? He wrote a letter late last night asking for Remus' help but I can't find either one of them' Tonks replied, catching her breath.

'You are not going to like it but we need to find them now. I think I know where they will be' she said, taking the older woman's hand and began running towards the room of requirement.

 _I need to find Neville. I need to help Neville before he makes a mistake_ Ginny frantically thought to herself when the door appeared. She gasped and scrambled into the room where she found Neville around a huge caldron. Lupin was passed out on the floor. Tonks squealed and ran towards him.

'Neville, what have you done? Stop, you don't have to do this' Ginny said, walking towards him.

'Don't walk any closer, do not walk past the white line' she looked around and saw a circle that was white just visible around Neville.

'Too late. Now stop. You don't need to be the chosen one to be worthy' she tried to tell him.

He put his hand up 'You're too late. I'm sorry'

Before she could reply, everything went black.


	2. Chapter One

The Ripple Effect

AN: I had a guest user asking me if this was going to be a Neville/Ginny story or a Harry/Ginny one. What I can say without spoiling it too much, this story will explore the consequences of Neville's actions and what it means for all his relationships but I can promise you Neville and Ginny will not move past a platonic status, even though it may seem like it won't at time, it is more about what she is going to do now Harry isn't the chosen one and Neville is. I hope that answers the question!

Chapter One- _'Were you dropped on your head as a baby or you naturally that stupid?'_

Ginny gasped as she woke suddenly. She found herself in her bedroom at The Burrow. She shot up, looking around confused and frantic. She looked down and realised she was wearing her pyjamas. She looked at a newspaper on her table and saw the date. It was December 22nd 1996. She gasped. It was a year before. She had no idea if Neville had succeeded but he had succeeded in travelling back in time. She heard her mother's shouts of her name. She sighed, grabbed her dressing gown, put it down and headed downstairs.

'Ah, there you are Ginny, I was beginning to worry about you' Mrs Weasley told her, as Ginny walked into the living room.

'Yeah, I was going to eat your breakfast if you didn't hurry' a voice said from the table. Her eyes widened when she realised it was Ron. She ran and hugged him, four months with no contact and she had to admit she had missed him but as she hugged him, she realised that she was probably in a new world where Ron never went anywhere. She pulled away.

'Don't stop on my account, though I'm confused why the sudden need to hug me, sis' he told her, laughing.

'Can't a sister hug her brother?' she replied, quickly, sitting down. She was trying to avoid eye contact with him.

'Hermione will be here this morning and Neville should be here sometime this afternoon' Ginny dropped the fork she had just picked up when she heard her mother mention Neville.

'Why is Neville coming here?' she asked, confused.

'He is my best friend. He comes every Christmas, you know that' Ron replied, looking at his sister's confusion confused himself.

'I just need… sorry, I'll be back in a second' she said, standing up and headed outside but she did not know where she was going. She could not use the floo network. It was too risky. She had to find Remus. No, she had to find Harry and work out what was going on but first she had to find her best friend.

Meanwhile, Neville was looking around his house for Grandma but could not find her anywhere. He walked into her bedroom and saw her bed that had not been slept in for a while. He walked over and sat on it. He put his hand down and felt a layer of dust. He stood up, confused when he heard a whooshing from downstairs. Someone had arrived via floo network. He hurried towards the noise and saw Ginny standing there.

'I just had to distract my mother and my brother with a fake gnome to get here' she turned to him and gasped.

'What?' he asked, narrowing his eyes.

'You're the chosen one alright' she sighed, pointing him towards a mirror. He turned to look at his reflection and gasped himself when he saw a faint red lightning bolt on his forehead.

'This is weird' he admitted, lightly tracing the scar with his index finger.

'You can't stay the chosen one, you know that right?' she said, crossing her arms.

'This is permanent now, I can't change it even if I wanted to' he told her, turning back to the mirror.

'This isn't a medal, you can't wear it with pride. Neville, do you realise what you have done?' she questioned, in shock.

'I need to find my Gran. She's probably at the hospital visiting Mum and Dad, I should go' he said, turning around and went to walk past her.

She stopped him 'Were you dropped on your head as a baby or you naturally that stupid?'

'What are you going on about?' he asked, moving away from her.

'You've seen your forehead. You survived the killing curse. Love did that. Your parents are dead, Neville' she replied. He took a moment to fully understand but nodded his head. He sat down, his head in his hands.

'Where's my Gran then? She should be here' he said quietly.

'Come on, we need to get back to mine and work out this fucking mess you have created' she replied, holding out her hand.

Back at The Burrow, Ginny was practically walking on eggshells. She stayed in the kitchen away from everyone, not knowing what to do.

'Do you know what is wrong with Neville, Ginny? He doesn't seem himself' Mrs Weasley said from behind her.

Ginny decided to take a wild stab in the dark 'He is looking for his Gran'

'Oh that poor boy. Your father and I were worried he wasn't doing well when he told us he was okay' Mrs Weasley replied, sounding upset.

'What are you going on about, Mum?' Ginny questioned, looking at how upset her Mum was and wondered what could have happened.

That…monster, taking away the only family he had just for him to suffer' Mrs Weasley replied, her gaze falling on Neville.

'Wait, you are telling me that Neville's Grandmother is dead?' Ginny asked, quietly.

'You know she is dead. You were there. You all were' Mrs Weasley sighed. This took a moment for Ginny to think about this. She gasped when she realised.

'His grandmother died in the department of Mysteries?' she whispered in shock.

'Are you feeling okay? You are being very forgetful today, darling' Mrs Weasley proclaimed. Before she could replied, her mother had walked off because there was a knock on the door. She sighed and walked over to Neville, pulling him aside.

'You killed her. You killed your Gran by bringing us here' she hissed, crossing her arms.

'What are you talking about?' Neville questioned, raising an eyebrow.

'Your Grandmother died. She died in the department of mysteries. She died instead of…'

'Sirius!' Mrs Weasley squeal came from the kitchen.

'Tell me this is not happening right now' Ginny said under her breath. She turned and she felt her legs turn to jelly as she saw Sirius Black standing in her kitchen. Then she fainted.

'….she has barely eaten all day… think the excitement has gotten to her with all us here together for once'

'…Aww there was me thinking I had made a lasting impression on her…'

'….Sirius! She is fifteen!'

'…I was joking, Molly. You never do get my jokes'

Ginny opened her eyes and saw her mother saw next to her with Sirius sat in the armchair opposite her.

'I best not tell my Godson you are fainting at the sight of me. He might get jealous' Sirius said, with a smirk.

'Your godson? Oh yes, Harry' she replied, with a smile.

'He is still a little heartbroken over you' he told her, with a sigh.

'Heartbroken? Really? Why?' she asked, sitting up.

'You know he has a crush on you since forever but we all know your eyes won't move past your brother's best friend' he said, his gaze falling over Neville as he was in the kitchen with Ron and Hermione.

'Me and Neville? No way. It's never going to happen. He is my best friend, he's great but just no' she told him, feeling disgusted at the thought.

'I'll be telling Harry that. It will make him feel a lot better' he replied, with a smile.

'Where is Harry?' she began to look around.

'He is visiting his parents. He shouldn't be long' Sirius told her.

Ginny's eyes narrowed 'Visiting his parents?'

'Are you sure you are not suffering from memory loss today, Ginny? You seem very confused about some things' Mrs Weasley asked, feeling her daughter's forehead. It then hit Ginny. Neville had not just swapped his and Harry's fates. He had swapped their parents fates. She sighed and stood up. She made an excuse about needing air and walked outside. She exhaled deeply.

'Are you okay?' a voice asked from behind her. She turned and she did not know to cry or laugh or both because Harry was stood there. He still looked the same. The only difference was he did not have a scar. She wanted to run and hug him but something told her they weren't as close in this world and that hurt her deeply.

'I am fine, how were your parents today?' she asked, quickly, trying to stop tears of happiness from falling.

'Same old, same old. Mum knows who I am more than Dad. It is what it is' he replied, struggling. She could no longer fight the impulse. She walked up to him and hugged him. She could feel him surprised against her before returning the hug.

'We should get inside, your mum has nearly finished cooking' he said after a moment once their hug had ended.

'Yeah, we should' she replied. Her eyes and his were fixed on each. Brown merging with green. Nothing had change, not even changing universes.


End file.
